Someone quotable once said “True character is defined by action.” But what about all our unspoken hopes, dreams, and fears? Aren’t those part of our character? Ira Marcks doesn’t know. He’s just a cartoonist. Join us for a night of conversation (and lots of drawings) about the weird paths we follow to uncover our own true character. There will be live musical accompaniment, a backwards Q and A, and many cute presentation slides to look at.

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Co-sponsored by the Department of Art + Design and Opalka Gallery, artist and author Ira Marcks will speak about his work on Tuesday, February 2nd at 6:30pm, launching the spring season of the 2015-16 Artist Lecture Series at Sage College of Albany.

Early illustration and comic art by Ira Marcks appeared in various national publications and comic anthologies. For a time, he had a serialized comic in the Hugo Award Winning sci-fi/fantasy magazine, Weird Tales. Branching out from traditional forms of cartoon narrative, his experimental illustration and music project dubbed an “illustrative score” received a thoughtful blog post by renowned comic theorist, Scott McCloud.

Ira has successfully Kickstarted two book projects; a graphic novel, Witch Knots, and an illustrated novel, The Aquarium Drift. Currently, Ira is working with his agent, pitching new projects including a follow-up novel to The Aquarium Drift and an art book called, Signs From Other Worlds, a collection of the hopes, fears, and weird ideas found in classic speculative and science fiction.

When he’s not writing, drawing or playing in his band, Ira is a freelance arts educator. He hosts youth workshops with a focus on visual storytelling using cartooning and graphic arts. He has collaborated with libraries, schools, museums, art centers, and other educational institutions across New York State. He has presented his classroom curriculum on blending art and science at the National Art Education Convention.